”Mexico
or Bust!”
It’s time to celebrate! While you were playing after school
today your butterflies started out on the long trip to their winter homes.
All butterflies were carefully boxed and labeled for their long journey
south. The special UPS shipping labels were put in place by our star
shipping organizer, Ruthan Gagner and her son, Josh. Journey North’s
chief symbolic monarch organizer, Beth Allen, oversaw their departure
just as night was falling.

You can be sure that the butterflies had lots of TLC
in the hands of our driver again this year! Mike Towey, now a seasoned
butterfly
driver was again thrilled to help deliver the butterflies on their
first leg of the journey to Mexico. (Mike was our UPS driver last year,
too!)
Before leaving, Mike gave us UPS Tracking numbers, so you can
follow the migration LIVE all the way to Mexico. But first--Mike
had a question for you. Watch the video clip below, and look over the details
of the travel itinerary that he left for you. See if you can answer
Mike’s Challenge Question. But don't wait too long, the Butterflies
could catch a tail wind!

Challenge
Question #1: (Text version):
"Exactly how many days, hours and minutes do you think it will
take the butterflies to reach Angangueo, Mexico?"

Itinerary
Clues:
The butterflies are traveling via UPS service. Here is the path they
will take:

Start with the time the Butterflies were scanned in at Journey
North staging grounds in Deephaven, MN--exactly 4:58 p.m. CST
on Nov 22.

The
boxes were then driven to the UPS Package Hub in Maple Grove, MN.
From the UPS Package Hub in Maple Grove, the butterflies will be
FLOWN to Louisville, KY

From Louisville, they will FLY to Houston, TX

From Houston they will FLY to Mexico

Upon arrival in Mexico City, they will go through Customs.

Finally they will be TRUCKED to Angangueo in Mexico.

As you
figure your answer, this information about the workday in Mexico might
be helpful: People generally come to work at 9 a.m.; they take a midday
comida from 12 until 2, and return to work until about 7 p.m.

Sharpen
Your Pencils! How Many Butterflies?
We were buried in paper butterflies this year! While packing them up
we wondered just how many you had sent us. So, we all went on camera
to ask YOU the big question! Watch us on the video, read the hints below,
and then see if you can answer:

IMPORTANT:
Lists are in alphabetical order BY THE ABBREVIATION. Please carefully
check the lists for your school. If you sent butterflies to Journey
North and you do not find your name on the list, don't be alarmed.
Just follow these steps:

LOOK
AGAIN! Please check the list very, very carefully. When teachers
write us in despair, we find that over 75% simply missed seeing
their school.
Sorry about spelling errors. With a plane to catch--and over
2,000 schools on board--we had to type quickly! We apologize
in advance if your school's name is misspelled.

If
you've double-checked and you’re certain your name is
not listed, please send comments and questions in our “feedback
form:” (Include your school’s
full name and address, and the number of butterflies you sent.)

The peak Monarch Butterfly migration is completed and your Symbolic
Butterflies now on their way to the school children in the sanctuary
area.
One special box (box #12) is also on its way to Rocio Trevino,
Founder of Correo Real in Coahuila, Mexico. Rocio wrote to say
that the local children and teens who will be participating in
the Symbolic Migration in Saltillo are eagerly waiting for some
of your paper butterflies to arrive. They plan to take special
care of them for the entire winter, she said, and send them back
north in March.

At
the Journey North staging grounds it is clear that students
all over North America want to help monarchs. The mail brought
many, many envelopes labeled, “We’re Helping
Monarchs!” and included money to be donated to the
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation(MBSF).
MBSF President Dr. Karen Oberhauser tells us that through
the use of these donations we will finally address the needs
of monarchs--as well as the needs of the people who own
the land on which the butterflies overwinter.
As a private, people-to-people initiative, MBSF connects
citizens of the United States and Canada who care about
monarchs with the very people in Mexico who own the sanctuaries
-- and on whose future the monarch depends.